Jim Drake

Stories by Jim

The Gorge is getting ready for an arts-fusion event to celebrate America’s resilience and “our sacred right to have fun,” on Sunday Aug. 13 with a program billed as “America the Beautiful — the Remix,” a music-poetry-dance extravaganza based on the theme of making America fun and beautiful again.

Bruce Molsky debuts solo show in Hood River Oct. 6

A true traveling musician, old-time fiddler Bruce Molsky had to call me back right after I contacted him last week — he was driving down a Virginia Highway, keeping both hands on the wheel as he safely pulled into a rest stop.

“What we’re doing is reducing the brightness of the sun by 100,000 times,” Bob Yoesle said of his solar viewing telescope system that he brought to The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles last Saturday afternoon.

When can someone say that he, or she, has finally reached the top of their game? What events in your life have to occur to say that you have finally “made it?”
It’s still an open-ended question for singer Storm Large, even after reflecting on 25 years of being on the music scene.

April 8 gig in The Dalles features touring musician who played with Iron Butterfly, Meat Loaf and Eric Burdon

If there’s one dream for musicians who enjoy the classic rock genre, actually playing in your favorite all-time band and contributing the quintessential sounds to their most popular songs probably ranks as number one.

Lyrics to songs usually tell stories, and music certainly can create feeling for those stories — but the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble is taking a new step in their repertoire by presenting original music integrated with pre-recorded narration during their live show.

I’m reading a terrific book right now. It’s terrific because, well, when you get to read translations of very old manuscripts about super-important stuff — and even find analogies to music that can tie into the current Instrumental art show — I’d call that terrific.

I remember the first gig I played for one traumatic reason. But can I tell you the year it happened? No, not without research. The day? Probably a Saturday, but I’d have to check. Anything about the setlist? Ummm, it had songs on it, yes.

By now, you should know that the Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association will be presenting “A Community of Music” at the Wy’east Middle School Performing Arts Center on Friday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m., and on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 2 p.m.

About a year ago, Eric John Kaiser released his album “Idaho,” which is a collection of songs he wrote while staying at a hotel near the Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, and then went back to Portland to record it.

My theory that all bands, music and interviews in the world are somehow linked together was further confirmed when a press release from Portland jam-banders World’s Finest landed in my in-box earlier this month.

There’s one main point I’d like to pass along about my talk with saxophonist Bob Sheppard, who will be in Hood River this weekend for the “All That Jazz” show at the arts center. He basically said that the concert won’t be too loud.

Hood River beer aficionados have a chance to meet up with Jeff Alworth, author of “The Beer Bible,” on Sunday, Aug. 23. He’ll be at Double Mountain Brewery as part of the Great Bottle Roundup, which starts at noon. If you’re ready for a 644-page reference guide that represents over two years of world-wide travel to major beer-producing regions, Sunday would be a good time to head down and check it out.

My timing was perfect the other evening. Not only did I catch the Columbiaires at band practice for the upcoming “Independence Eve” show at the Bingen Theater, but I managed to show up exactly during the fairly lengthy power failure that White Salmon and Bingen were experiencing at the time.

It seems like yesterday I was celebrating birthday number 40, but to me time feels like it’s speeding by at a faster rate. I mean, it seemed like I just blinked my eyes and the last season of Downton Abbey was already wrapping up. What was that, anyway, a total of six weeks?

Since last April, drummer turned DJ Jeff Minnick has been broadcasting the classic country sounds of the 40s, 50s and 60s with his two-hour Tuesday night program The Countryside, live on the air and over the internet from 7-9 p.m.

Jim Drake’s Entertainment Blog

The story in the news last week on the upcoming auditions for the CAST production of “Good People” prompted me to contact director Judie Hanel and ask her a few questions on a topic I know very little about: auditioning for a play.

A year ago I had the pleasure to interview NYC-based folk singer Christine Lavin. She was supposed to do a show at the Aladdin Theater in Portland but unfortunately the show got cancelled at the last minute.

Austin resident and Gorge native Ben Ballinger is taking a slightly different marketing approach on “The State I’m In,” his sixth album to date. Ballinger signed with Good Horse Records, and it’s called “records” for good reason — that’s what they make.